About the position
The Senior Product Safety Manager will be responsible for driving the product safety program for our new line of licensed decorative lighting products. This role will implement our safety vision, define our organization’s risk tolerance, and ensure compliance with international standards. As an experienced and strategic leader, the Senior Product Safety Manager will lead other safety engineers and technicians, proactively identify and mitigate risks, and embed safety into our product development and commercialization processes. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in electrical engineering and proven expertise in leading and managing product safety programs, particularly in consumer goods with electrical components. This is a high impact opportunity for a proactive professional who excels at balancing regulatory rigor with entrepreneurial agility and who is passionate about delivering safe, high-quality products. This full-time position reports to the Chief Safety Officer and is expected to work in a hybrid model, which currently includes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in our Burlingame and Redwood City offices. Frequent international travel to manufacturing facilities in Asia is required.
Responsibilities
- Lead our end-to-end product safety program for our licensed product assortment
- Define and articulate the organization’s safety risk tolerance by establishing clear frameworks for acceptable risk levels, balancing innovation, consumer experience, and regulatory requirements
- Continuously evolve the safety program by proactively identifying emerging risks and anticipating regulatory trends
- Champion a culture of safety across Balsam Brands
- Ensure compliance with relevant safety regulations and standards (e.g., UL, CE, IEC, and other applicable international standards)
- Lead comprehensive safety risk assessments and hazard analyses (FMEA, Fault Tree Analysis), driving actions based on findings to mitigate risk at both the components and finished product levels
- Oversee and enhance product testing protocols, including validation of safety features and stress-testing for foreseeable misuse scenarios
- Lead investigations into safety-related incidents, root cause analyses, and the implementation of robust corrective and preventive actions in partnership with factories
- Establish feedback loops to drive continuous improvement in product safety, leveraging data, incident learnings, and industry benchmarks
- Oversee the creation and maintenance of all safety documentation, including certifications, test results, and compliance reports
- Guide the development of safety labels, user manuals, and warnings compliant with global safety standards (e.g. UL 588, IEC 60598)
- Provide technical guidance to internal teams, including product development, compliance, and sourcing teams
- Partner with R&D, engineering, and legal teams to integrate safety into product design
- Lead training programs for factory staff, QA auditors, and cross-functional teams on safety protocols and emerging regulations
Requirements
- Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering or a related field; Master’s preferred
- 11+ years of experience in product safety management with a focus on electrical/consumer products
- Proven track record of leading safety or risk management programs, going beyond executing compliance tasks
- Expertise in electrical safety standards and testing methodologies
- Proficiency in risk assessment tools (FMEA, Fault Tree Analysis)
- Familiarity with other compliance areas, such as EMC, Wireless and Environmental compliance
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills—able to balance risk, innovation, and consumer experience
- Exceptional communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence and align cross-functional teams and external partners
- Willingness to travel internationally (up to 25%) to inspect factories, oversee testing, and build relationships with global partners
Nice-to-haves
- Experience working in consumer electronics
- Knowledge of reliability engineering and statistical analysis for safety data
- Hands-on experience with lab testing equipment and product certification processes
- Demonstrated leadership in managing QA auditors or safety teams, and in building high-performing safety cultures
Benefits
- Competitive compensation, including a cash-based incentive plan; salary is reviewed yearly
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage, with 100% of monthly premiums covered for team members
- Up to $2,000 annual funding toward HSA accounts
- Medical, transit, dependent care FSA
- Infertility coverage offered on all medical plans
- Generous parental leave program and flexible return options
- Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
- Company-paid short and long-term disability insurance
- 401(k) with dollar-for-dollar company match up to $4,000 per calendar year
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and other mental health and wellness perks
- Paid holidays, annual shutdown week, PTO, and volunteer time-off (VTO) packages
- Paid 5-week sabbatical leave after 10 years of employment
- Annual continuous learning benefit up to $1,000 per person, per fiscal year
- Up to $300 flexible reimbursement to support setup of new team member's work-from-home environment
- Generous team member merchandise discount
- Valuable extras: identity theft protection, subsidized parking, monthly wellness, pet insurance, accident & critical illness insurance
